Telephone booth



Nov. l, 1932 O. GULLICKSENv TELEPHONE BOOTH Filed Sept. 15,- 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l mmm www

NNNMNNNYNN\VN\\vW\NNNNW\\\\\N\N\N\NA ...vf/4% Nov. 1, 1932. o. GULLICKSEN TELEPHONE BOOTH Filed Sept. 15, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 1, 1932 uiten STATES lafrnur ori-FICE OLE GULLICKSEN,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CHURCHILL CABINET' i COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS TELEPHONE BOOTH Application filed September 15, i930. Seriali- No. 481,859.

The present invention relates to telephone booths, and is particularly concerned'with improvements in the sound-proofing and ventilating of telephone booths.

' 5 The question of sound-proofing isa very important factor in the manufacture of telephone booths, because booths are installed primarily for the purpose of excluding all extraneous noise, conversation, etc., and to lo give the user of the telephone the privacy which he desires. In the telephone booths of the prior art, this factor has usually been neglected, and the prior booths are not capable of prevention of the transmission of the ordinary sounds of speech, so that the users oi booths, placed side by side, are constantly annoyed and their attention distracted by sounds from adjoining booths and noise from outside the booths.

The question of ventilation is also `of the highest importance, because it relates to the health and comfort of the occupants of the booths, and many booths are constantly in use, without suicient lapse of time for any ventilation of the booth between the successive users. In the boothsoi` the'prior art, it

has been practically impossible to secure suf-- icient ventilation, and also maintain privacy,

because the door of the booth'was the only 3c opening provided for ventilation, and it was necessary to close 'the door to secure privacy and exclude noise. It will thus be evident that in the prior booths it was necessary to dispense with either ventilation or privacy, because the booths were not capable of accomplishing both results at the same time..V

One of the objects oi the present invention is the provision of an improved` telephone booth which will be automatically ventilated by the opening and closing of the door incident to the use of the booth.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved telephone booth construction which is more sound-proof than the booths of the prior art, in order tokeep-from the transmitter, so tai' as possible, all sounds other than that of the voice of the speaker, and to prevent transmission of the speakers voice to parties outside the boothsvor in ad'- joiningbooths..

Another object isthe provision ot an` imr proved ventilation system: for telephone booths, which does not detract fromthe sound insulating qualities'of the booth.

Another obj ect is the provision of a' ventilation system for telephone booths; including improved means for automatically accomplishing ventilation incident tothe operation of the booth.l

Another object is the provision et an improved telephone booth structure which is capablel of being more economically mante factured and" assembled than the booths ofthe prior art, so that the booth may be sold at a price within the means of a large number of purchasers.

Another object is the provision of an improvedioor structure for telephoneA booths, which is more economically manutactu-red, more easily main-tained in' sanitary condi tion, andi adapted to eliminate,sovfar a-s possible, the stumbling usually causedi by the thick floor structures in the booths of the prior art. l

Other objects and advantages'o the inven tion willY be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, of which there are two sheets;

Fig; 1 is a view in perspective of a telephone'booth constructed according to the present invention, with the door open;`

Fig..2 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Y

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionalJ view taken on the plane of. the line 3.-3 et Fig. 2.;A

Fig. 4L is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line ll-t of Fig. l, at.y right angles to the plane of Fig. 2. i

The improved-booth, which is indicated in its entirety by the numeral? lOin Fig. 1, preferably includes sidewalls lx1 andE 1,2, a rear wall 13, door :trameA 14, door 15,. floor 16; and one or morefceilings 17 1&8.-

The door` frame 14, door l5 and the operating mechanism for the door 15 are preferably of the type disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 295,477, liled July 26, 1928, on telephone booths, and consequently, the door need not be described in detail.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be observed that the door includes a pair of door leaves 19 and 20, mounted upon the door Jframe 14 f'ith a plurality of hinges 15, and the door leaves 19 and 20 are provided with the adj acent concavely curved surfaces 21 and 22 for engagement With the curved Hanges 23, 24 of a nonpinching hinge 25. The hinge 25, including flanges 23, 24, extends substantially the full length of the door leaves 19 and 20, and thel door leaf V2O is provided with a slider 26 for slidably engaging in a guide 27, so that the leaves 19 and 20 may be folded into a pcsition substantially flush With the outer surface of the door frame 14, as shown in Fig. 1.

In order to provide a booth having greater sound insulating properties and to provide an improved booth structure, which may be manufactured and assembled at a minimum cost, the side Walls 11, 12, the rear wall 13, floor 1G and ceilings 17, 18 are preferably each constructed of full size boards or lumber formed of a plurality of laminations of Wood 28-32 inclusive. Any number of laminations may be employed, but the number of laminations disclosed has been found sufficient for accomplishing desirable results. The various laminations may be arranged with the grain of each lamina disposed in a different direction from every other lamina, the successive laminae being secured together under high pressure by means of animal or vegetable glue.

The lumber of which the laminae are made is, of course, properly dried and treated in a manner which will be evident to those skilled in the art. The outer lamin 28, 32 are ordinarily thinner for the purpose of constituting a veneer or finishing layer of a bet-ter quality of Wood used for h'nishing.

A booth constructed with exterior Walls of laminated lumber according to the present invention has greater sound insulating qualities than the booths of the prior art, and much of the labor and machinery necessary for the construction of the booths of the prior art may be eliminated. The booths thus constructed are also very strong and durable, and there is practically no possibility of splitting or warping of the Walls of the booths, so that they are capable of giving longer service and withstanding more abuse without expense for repair or maintenance.

Many of the advantages of the invention may be realized Without employing the exact and detailed mode of construction for securf ing together the floor, Walls and ceiling of dinally extending groove 33, located adjacent each of the lateral edges 34 of rear Wall 13, but spaced suihciently from the edges 34 to receive the laminas 28, 29 of the side walls 11 and 12 when the outer surfaces of the side Walls are flush with the edges 34.

The door frame 14 may also include a pair of vertical frame members 35, 36 and an up per transverse frame member 37 secured together in any convenient manner and forming the usual door opening 38.

The vertical frame members 35, 36 of the door frame 14 are also preferably provided. with longitudinally extending grooves 39 located on the inner si de near the outer edges 40 of the door frame members 35, 3G, but spaced sufficiently from the edges 40 so that the laminae 28, 29 may be received in groove 39 when the side Walls 11, 12 are flush with the edges 40.

The side Walls 11 and 12 each preferably comprise a single piece of laminated lumber, rectangular in form, and of a Width equal to the. interior depth of the booth from the front to the bach, with the exception of the laminae 28, 29, which project beyond the edges 41 of the side Walls suliiciently to lill the grooves 33, 39. The side Walls 11, 12 are of suliicient height to extend from the floor of the room, in which the booth is located, to the ceiling 17 of the booth, and the ceiling 17 may consist of a single rectangular piece of laminated lumber, sufficient in size to fit inside the door frame and rear Wall 13, as shown in Fig. 4, but Wide enough to overlap the side Walls 11 and 12, as shown in Fig. 2.

It should be noted that in the diagrammatic representation of Fig. 2, the laminasJ have not been illustrated in detail for the reason that the details of structure may be better illustrated in the enlarged views of Figs. 3 and 4.

The door frame, Walls and ceiling are preferably secured together by gluing and by the use of screws, as Will be understood b v those skilled in the art, and the interior surface of the Walls 11-13 and ceiling 17 is preferably covered with a lining 42 of sound absorbent material er an ornamental layer of sheet metal, such as steel, stamped With various designs.

The sheet metal lining has the advantage of promoting sanitation and preventing destruction of the interior of the booth by the users, and a booth equipped With such a sheet metal lining may be maintained in good condition with a minimum expenditure of labor and material. The lining 42 may be forced into the vertically extending corners of the booth by strips of molding 43, which are secured in place by a plurality of screws, and the joints between the ceiling and Walls are preferably covered by molding strips 44 secured in the horizontally extending corners between the ceiling 17 and the Walls of the booth.

ln order to provide for the automatic ventilation of the pres-ent telephone booth, the ceiling 17 is preferably provided With a ventilation opening 46 through which the air is directed by the pressure created by movement of the door 15. The door 15 is adapted to generate a substantial pressure When it is closed by a user of the booth, expelling air from the ventilation opening 46 With considerable force and automatically accomplishing a certain degree of ventilation by removal of the air from the upper part of the booth Where foul air accumulates. The ventilation opening 46 may be of any shape, but it is preferably located in a staggered relation with reference to other ventilation openings 47, 48 located in other ceilings or baffles carried by the top of the both.

The rear Wall 13 of tne booth preferably extends above the ceiling 17, and the upper frame member 37 likewise extends above the ceiling 17 for the purpose of providing one or more auxiliary air chambers 45, and proa 47 located in staggered relation to the ventilation opening 46 in the ceiling 17. The ceiling 18 may be supported upon the front Wall 87 and rear Wall 13 by providing strips 49 upon which the ceiling 18 is supported and l secured with glue, screvvs, and/or other fastening means. y A

It Will thus be observed that the upper part of the present telephone booth is so constructed that the foul air may be forced out of the top of the booth through the staggered ventilation openings, but the transmission of the sounds of speech from the interior, or the transmission of extraneous sounds into the booth is prevented by the labyrinth of ceilings or baffling means through which the sound must pass. Ordinarily, the sound is dissipated by reflection and absorption within the chamber 45, so that the present ventilation features do not detract from the sound insulating qualities in any noticeable degree.

In order to provide a booth which is capable of being set up as a single unit, or as one of a battery of telephone booths, the present booth is preferably provided with removable panels, indicated in their entirety by the numeral 50. The panels 50 may be identical in form but are oppositely disposed when located upon the booth, and may be secured yin place by the use of a plurality of Wood screws 51, extending from the interior of the booth through the side Walls 11, 12 into the panels 50..`

The panels 50 may be of any ornamental construction, but preferably include side framemembers 52, lioined by end frame members 53, and by an intermediate frame member 54, and the inner edges of all of the side frame members are provided with grooves 55 for receiving a sheet of thin lumber 56.

1t will thus be observed that any number of booths may be placed side. by side, as shown in Fig. 3, with panels 50 only upon the end booths, or a single booth may be set up as shown in Fig. 1, with panels on each side. The'panels 50 are also adapted to close the sides of the air chamber 45 when attached to the booth, and if desired one side of each air chamber 45 may be closed by an auxiliary partition 57, so as to prevent communication between the air chambers of separate booths When the booths are arranged in` a series, as in Fig. 3. The booth is ordinarily provided With a shelf 58 for the telephone, which may be supported in one corner by a pair of cleats 59, 60, carried by the rear Wall 13 and side Wall 12 respectively.

In order to eliminate the stumbling,

which has been caused by the relatively high floors of the booths of the prior art, the

present booth is preferably provided with a floor 16, which may consist of a relatively thin layer of Vflooring 61 located at the eX- treme lower edges of the walls. The flooring 61 may be of any suitable material, but is 3..;

ing vertical flanges 64 for engagement with the Walls.

The ioor layer 61 and Walls are preferably recessed to receive the metal member 62,

and these parts may be secured together by a T i plurality of Wood screws. The floor 16 is preferably also provided with a layer of surfacing material 65, such as linoleum or other similar compositions, and the surfacing material 65 is preferably slit at the corners and extended upwards on the side Walls to cover the lower. portion of the side Walls as at 66. rPhe linoleum is also preferably cemented in place, and its upper edge may be protected by an edge protecting metal strip 67 carried by the Walls of the booth.

In order to provide a non-slipping threshold, a strip 68 of relatively rough material, such as carborundum, may be provided for covering the edge of the linoleum adjacent the door opening 38 and for forming a durable threshold.

The operation of the ventilation system of the present booth is adapted to be accomplished automatically by the opening and nm leo closing of the door. On the opening of the door a certain amount of circulation is caused through the ventilation openings 46, 47, and upon the closing of the door a similar movement of the air is generated inthe opposite direction. The door thus automatically causes a circulation through the ventilation openings which results in a change of a large portion of the. air, particularly at the upper part of the booth With each operation or" the door.

The present booth is also more sound-prooil than the booths of the prior art, and capable of manufacture at a much lower cost than the prior booths. The ventilation -features do not detract from the sound-proofing qualities of the booth, and sounds which would otherwise be transmitted directly through a ventilation opening are absorbed and dissipated by the baiiiing means provided at the upper part ot' the booth.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment oit my invention, many modifications may be made Without departingfrom the spirit of the invention, and I do not Wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes Within the scope of the appended claims.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent oi` the United States is:

l. A telephone booth comprising a floor, side Walls, rear Wall and ceiling, each constructed of a plurality of contacting layers oi laminated Wood, a door frame secured to said side Walls and ceiling, a door carried by said frame, and a pair of detachable panels carried by said side Walls.

2. A telephone booth Comprising a Hoor, side Walls, rear Wall and ceiling, each constructed of a plurality or" contacting layers ot' laminated Wood, a door frame secured to said side Walls and ceiling, a door carried by said frame, a pair of detachable panels carried by said side Walls, and a second ceiling carried by said Walls and spaced from the lirst mentioned ceiling, said ceilings having staggered air vents.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this l2th day of September, 1930.

OLE GULLICKSEN. 

